In the latest sign of mounting fiscal distress in South County schools, the San Ysidro School District said today it is planning to slash close to $5 million from its annual budget to avoid running out of money to pay its bills.
Late yesterday, I reported that the San Ysidro district is nearly broke. The district is spending more than it receives in revenue and is on track to run out of money starting next year.
The budget woes mirror similar, though less severe, challenges at other South County districts, several of which face declining enrollment, layoffs and, in one district, anticipated school closures.
Last month, county education officials placed the San Ysidro district under financial supervision, saying in a Jan. 9 letter that the district is in “fiscal distress” and will be $2.2 million in the red next year and more than twice that amount the following year.
District officials did not initially respond to a list of questions I sent Wednesday morning following a brief phone conversation with spokesperson Cristina Inzunza.
Today, multiple district officials weighed in.
In a statement, Acting Superintendent Manuel Bojorquez said the district is “fully dedicated to leading the restoration of a positive budget certification by December 2026…[District officials maintain] a steadfast commitment to serving our students, families and staff with unwavering integrity and professionalism.”
In a separate statement, San Ysidro Chief Business Officer Marilyn Adrianzen outlined steps the district is taking to repair its finances.
Adrianzen pointed to a nearly $5 million budget reduction plan approved by the district’s school board last month.
The plan includes a halt in discretionary spending, a hiring freeze, layoffs and using money targeted for after-school programs and other specialized uses to pay for expenses currently covered by the district’s general fund.
The cuts, which add up to $4.8 million, will enable the district to meet its financial obligations next year and begin replenishing its reserves, Adrianzen said.
In total, the district plans to lay off 22 full-time teachers and administrators, 20 non-teaching staff and 18 temporary teachers. The district currently has roughly 500 employees.
Adrianzen said the layoffs would not affect class-size staffing ratios next year.
“We’ve been really transparent” about the district’s financial challenges, she said in a follow-up interview. “We’re trying to be so creative with the funding and [job] positions.”
Adrianzen said the district’s budget woes actually are a recent phenomenon. Since 2020, county education officials have given full approval to district finances, she said.
The district’s current budget only entered negative territory because of factors outside the district’s control, Adrianzen said. Factors include declining enrollment, rising special education costs, insufficient state funding and the expiration of one-time Covid-era funds, she said.
“I think it’s unfair that people say we’re not well run,” Adrianzen said. “We have the whole heart for the children and San Ysidro. From the superintendent to every employee in the district and every board member, it’s always about the students.”
South County’s Black Community Marks Black History Month with Singing and Barbecue
The vitality of South County’s small but mighty Black community was on full display this week at a Chula Vista celebration of Black History Month that will probably go down as one of the loudest, most heartfelt and tastiest City Hall ceremonies in recent memory.
Black residents make up roughly 6 percent of South County’s total population, according to a recent demographic survey of the region’s county supervisorial district.
Tuesday’s flag-raising ceremony at Chula Vista City Hall was anything but small.
Dignitaries, residents and city officials packed the lobby (the ceremony was held indoors because of impending rain) for rousing speeches, a performance by members of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Choir of San Diego and a table laden with sandwiches, coleslaw and other dishes served by Dizzeez BBQ N Saucez restaurant, a Black-owned business in Chula Vista.
Speakers included Mayor John McCann, NAACP San Diego branch Secretary Jamel Williams and Destiny Johnson, a Southwestern College student who paid tribute to prominent but often unheralded Black Americans and assured audience members that “Black people know they are and always will be spectacular.”
McCann, who speaks at many such events, seemed especially happy to be celebrating Black culture and achievement. Many of San Diego County’s Black residents have ties to the military. McCann, a Navy veteran who also serves in the naval reserves, always speaks with special emotion about fellow veterans.
He joked around with Williams, who also served in the Navy, asked for a second round of applause for Johnson’s speech (“What a great, great speech”) and lingered at the ceremony talking to participants and munching on barbecue.
“African Americans are incredibly successful in Chula Vista,” he said in a brief interview after the ceremony. “They’ve shown great leadership in our police department, a strong church community…and successful businesses.”
Linda Washington, a retired utility worker, said she drove from her home in Paradise Hills to witness the ceremony in part because she recently decided to get more involved in community service.
“I’ve never been into politics,” she said. “But things going on in the world right now, I want to get wiser and more involved.”
Washington said the Chula Vista event was even more poignant because it took place the same day news broke about the death of longtime civil rights activist and former presidential candidate Jesse Jackson.
“When I woke up this morning and heard about Jesse Jackson, that made me want to come,” she said. “I want to support [what Jackson fought for].”
In Other News
The Port of San Diego on Tuesday gave final approval to a comprehensive development plan for National City’s bayfront that includes a major park expansion and a reconfiguration of port operations that will free up land for possible hotels and other recreational opportunities. Gil-Anthony Ungab, National City’s representative on the Port’s Board of Port Commissioners, called the plan “a big deal for National City” that will open “the door to economic vitality and community access to our waterfront like never before.”
Port officials also announced this week they have selected local artist Nicole Marie Pete to paint two murals at the base of the Imperial Beach pier as part of the port’s ongoing renovation of the pier’s waterfront amenities. The murals, which will cover a mechanical enclosure adjacent to a port-constructed splash pad, will commemorate Imperial Beach’s cultural and environmental heritage.
South County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre on Tuesday escorted California gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter on a tour of environmental problems in the sewage-clogged Tijuana River. Porter vowed to declare a state of emergency at the river on “day one” if elected governor.
inewsource recently reported on plans in Imperial Beach to join the growing roster of California cities cracking down on e-bikes.
And the Union-Tribune’s intrepid Walker Armstrong took a detailed look at controversy in Chula Vista over some recently canceled City Council meetings.